Collapsible container



June 1953 M. D. WALKLET 2,640,620

' COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER Filed Nov. 4. 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. MERGER D. WALKLET A T'TORNEYS J1me 1953 M. D. WALKLET COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 4, 1950 INVENTOR. MERGER D. WAL/(LE T BY 3/ m wt ATTORNEYS June 1953 M. D. WALKLET 2,640,620

COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER Filed Nov. 4, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 5

INVEN TOR. MERCER D. WALKLET AT 7' ORA/E Y5 June 2, 1953 M. D. WALKLET 2,640,620

COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER Filed Nov. 4, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 8 I5 a 9 9 8 INVENTOR.

MERGER 0. WALKLET A TTORNE'YS Patented June 2, 1953 Mercer D. WalkleLAkron, Ohio, assignortn. The Hamlin Metal Products Company-,Akron Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application Novemb'er i, 1950', SerialNo; 194,055

1 Claim. I (Cl. 220-6 The present invention relates to containers of the type which. are used, extensively for the handling, storage, and shipment of: a large number of articles in modern. manufacturing plants. While containers of this type are employed for thestorage and shipment of. all types of. goods, the-invention has been particularly designed for the handling of small castings or stampings which are used in automobile manufacturing plants.

There are numerous requirements which a practical container of this type must meet and the design of the present invention answers these requirements much better than any previously known containers. Attemptshave been made to improve upon the original boxes or crates used for the purpose but none have met the need in as eificient and satisfactory manner as that shown herein.

A container of the type specified must be sturdy so asto withstand the rough usage to which it is put. It also should be as light as possible for ease in handling and to reduce shipping costs. It should be of a knockdown construction so that it will occupy the minimum of 9 space both when in idle storage and also in the reshipment of empty containers. Knockdown containers have been suggested, but the design shown herein is superior to previous forms ofknockdown containers for the reason that the component parts may be packed easily and without danger of accidental loss of parts.

The container should be capable of stacking when filled and alsowhen empty in such a manner that the stacks will be stable and cannot be easily upset. The container should adapt itself for handling by the common type of lift-tractors which are in use in factories and warehouses. These-lift-tractors are provided with long", horizontal arms which are thrust under the container and then raised to transport the containers.

The container should also be adaptable for easy unloading. Inthe form shown herein, the I 2; Fig. l isa front elevation of the.- improved-con.- tainerofi the present invention shown in its perf ected: form;

Fig; 2 is. aside elevation, thelocation. of thisview being; indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3' is a detail; sectional view through one sideof the. container on the line 3-3- of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3a. is a": detail; sectiononthe line 3a-3a:

of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4." is a' detail of: the lower portion of an end wall. on the line 44; of Fig; 2.

Fig. 51 is a. View showing; thecontainerv in collapsed condition.

Fig; dis a: sectiomonthe line 6-li-of. Fig, 5.

Fig. 'lis a. view showingithe manner in which containers are: primarily intended: for holding loose castings or: stampings, thematerial has to; be sufficiently' rugged. to withstand the hard usage to which it is put.

It. consists of arectangular' bottom. plate lof convenient size, to the upper side of which are riveted. the horizontal webs of two. front and rearangles 2 andlthe-horizontal webs of the twoside angles 32. AsshowntuinFigs; I. and 2;.the vertical; webs: of; the side" angles 3. are somewhat higher thanvthe'. front and rear. angles 2. These.

angles; constitute: flanges. for the bottom; plate 5, which form a chamber to house the removable side plates to be described:

Qn the underside of the plate i are riveted longitudinal" reinforcing angle rails 5-which extend alongrt'he length of the plateand are arranged" in three pairs, one pairbeing located at the centerline of" the plate I andthe others along the front and rear edges of theplate. Theseangles 5 not only serve to reinforce-the bottom of the container but they also provide a secure anchorage for the feet by which the container lS supported withthe bottom above the-floorlevel suiiiciently to allow for the entrance of the usual forks or lifting arms which are provided on the lift-tractor. In the form of the invention shown herein, three feet 6 are spaced along each pair of reinforcing rails 5. Each foot is a stamping, the details of which are shown in the drawing and is in the form of a triangular stamping, the

upper edges of which are flanged for riveting to the reinforcing rails 5. The base of each foot is formed with a narrow central rib B, which forms the surface on which the container rests. At the side of the rib are shorter recessed areas or shoulders 9. The shoulders provide for nesting one container within the walls of another when the erected containers are stacked upon one another as shown at the broken out portion of Fig. 8, it being noted that one container will rest upon the upper edges of the container beneath on the surfaces 9, while the extensions 8 provide an interlocking engagement with the container beneath. This construction makes a stable stack of containers and prevents one container from shifting on the container beneath.

As will be seen by comparing Figs. 1 and 2, the feet 6 are distributed over the bottom of the container so that the fork of the lift-truck can be entered from any side of the container.

Two opposite end walls of the container are indicated by the reference numeral 12. These walls are mounted on the upper edges of the angles 3 by hinges 13, so that they may bev folded inwardly over the space provided at the bottom of the containers. The end walls are so proportioned that when the containers are 001- lapsed they will lie flat on the upper edges of the angles 2, without interfering with one another. This is shown in Fig. 5.

Along the vertical edges of each end wall I2 are located long channel members indicated at IS, the edges of which are turned inwardly to provide undercut grooves I6.

The front and rear side plates are indicated by the numerals I8, the lower edges of which rest upon the vertical webs of the angles 2 when the side plates are in position. Along each vertical edge of each side plate is riveted a T- shaped guide rail 20 which fits in the groove 16 on the channel [5 at the meeting edges of the side and end plates. Preferably, the guide rail 20 is channeled, as at 21, to receive the edge portion of the side plate to which it is riveted.

To reinforce both the side plates and the end plates, reinforcing ribs 24, which are preferably triangular in cross section, are riveted along the upper and lower edges of these plates and at a midway point.

When the container is erected, the end walls are raised to vertical position and the side walls are placed in position by engaging the rails 20 with the channels 15. This makes a strong and rigid container. To unload the container one or both side plates are raised and the contents will spill out over the floor.

To collapse the container, the two side plates l8 will be laid on the bottom of the container where they will be housed'by the vertical webs of the angles 2 and 3. This is shown in Fig. 6, which illustrates the manner in which the side plates will be laid. In this position, the sides lie below the tops of the angle 3 so that when the end plates are folded inwardly, as shown in Fig. 5, they will lie in flat position with the ribs 24 projecting upwardly. It will be noted that, as shown in Fig. 6, the channels pass over the upper edges of the angles 2, which now support the end plates, and that the chan- 4 nels will hold the end plates from twisting. As the containers are apt to receive very rough handling, the channels [5, engaging the angles 2, will take any side strain on the hinges l3 should the side of the collapsed container be struck during shipment or handling.

It will be seen that a sturdy container has been provided and one which will occupy little space when in collapsed condition. When the containers are stacked for reshipment, they may be piled up in the manner shown in Fig. 7. As shown in this view, the containers will be prevented from shifting relatively to one another by the nesting of the feet 6 with the reinforcing ribs 24 on the end plates. For example, the collapsed container at the top of the stack cannot shift to the right because the feet 5 at the edges of the containers are blocked by the ribs 24 on the edges of the container beneath. Nor can it shift to the left because the feet 6 at the center line of the plate I are blocked by the rib 24 on the edge of the folded end plate I2 on the container beneath. In this connection it will be noted that the spacing of the feet 6 and the location of the ribs 24 on the end plates are carefully laid out so as to provide for a stable column of collapsed containers stacked in echelon formation due to the nesting of the feet on one container with the reinforcing ribs 24 on the container beneath.

What is claimed is:

A collapsible container comprising a rectangular bottom plate having vertical flanges at opposite ends, end plates hinged along the upper edge of said flanges for movement from a collapsed to an erected position and vice versa, removable side plates slidably carried by said end plates, supporting feet located on the under side of the bottom plate at the corners thereof, each of said feet being formed with an inwardly offset portion at its bottom end providing a downwardly facing shoulder to rest upon the upper edge of the wall of a similar container when two containers in erected condition are stacked and also providing on each of said feet a downwardly projecting portion to nest within the upper portion of said walls of said similar container, and reinforcing ribs on the outer faces of said end plates parallel to said flanges, whereby when said end plates are in a collapsed position, the feet on a superjacent container c0- operate with said ribs to prevent undue relative lateral movement between the containers.

LIERCER D. WALKLET.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 557,120 Grant Mar. 31, 1896 687,807 Winter Dec. 3, 1901 946,739 Segessemann Jan. 18, 1910 1,011,794 Houser Dec. 12, 1911 1,107,174 Merrill Aug. 11, 1914 2,070,070 Stoner Feb. 9, 1937 2,154,599 Beckwith Apr. 18, 1939 2,172,878 Pfitzer Sept. 12, 1939 2,553,273 Phillips May 15, 1951 

